Avalanche of rose petals

“The Roses of Heliogabalus” is a famous 1888 painting by British-Dutch Victorian painter Lourens Alma Tadema based on a probably apocryphal episode from the short life (204-222) of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, also known as Heliogabalus. The story comes from the Historia Augusta, a collection of thirty biographical books that chronicle the lives of Emperor Hadrian to Numerian (117-284 AD).) describe. The name Historia Augusta, translating as exalted history or history of the emperors, was coined in 1603 by the English scholar Isaac Casaubon.

An avalanche of rose petals swirls down from an unleashed tarpaulin and delights the guests who are at the lavish banquet. In the background, Roman Emperor Heliogabalus, in golden robe, watches unfazed as they perish in the suffocating deluge. You can see at the bottom of the painting the fearful glances of the people who face their fate of a certain death. In his notes to the Historia Augusta, Thayer noted that Nero did the same, and in Petronius a similar ceiling is described in Trimalchio's house.

The canvas of the painting measures 214 by 132 cm, a ratio that approximates the golden ratio 1 618:1. The blossoms depicted were sent weekly from the Côte d'Azur by rail to the artist's studio in London for four months in the winter of 1887-1888. Months after the painting was completed, Alma-Tadema found dried rose petals in his studio. Until just before applying the varnish layer, Alma-Tadema continued to apply highlights.

#art #painting #tales #storyline #retro #blossom #summer